So, what exactly are the rules about sampling? As far as like huge popular songs and the like go. What I mean is, the legal stuff as far as, am I allowed to you use only samples of like a popular song to create a new song completely composed of said samples and release it (Provided credit is given where its due.)?
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South Korea
The big thing about sampling "huge popular songs" is that big record labels (who own the songs) are not exactly known for being generous with their assets, and they can afford crafty lawyers to protect those assets. It would be great to sample all pop songs and give the finger to the corporate swine, but unless you are willing to pay for that right, or receive "cease and desist" notices and legal threats, I would advise against it.
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TX
If by "rules" you mean "laws," there are fair use laws surrounding these things but they're very subjective and get messy fast. To summarize, if you're a small-time artist, and/or you're making use of only small samples which are sufficiently recontextualized, and/or if you're not selling your music, no one is likely to take any action against you. If a major artist *wanted* to target any particular unlicensed user of samples from their music, my impression is they'd probably win. But it's unlikely to be worth their while.
People can get pretty paranoid about this stuff but from what I've seen it isn't that big of a deal even for relatively popular artists. To be safe, I might leave samples uncredited in any obvious, web-searchable text block unless they were from people who I was pretty sure would have a benevolent view of such things. I can imagine some poor major label underling/bot sifting through text but it's hard to imagine they'd listen to a random song to see if it had unlicensed samples in it.
Last edited by Brother Android (Oct 17, 2013 4:06 am)
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New England, USA
here is a quick-guide.. medium-length but worth reading
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/ … 30165.html
for a more detailed explanation + history + legal precedence, check this one out
http://www.law.berkeley.edu/journals/bt … /text.html
i think you're fine no matter what you do. just don't get famous.
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TX
awesomeforce wrote:
i think you're fine no matter what you do. just don't get famous.
Well said. 
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South Korea
Brother Android wrote:
awesomeforce wrote:i think you're fine no matter what you do. just don't get famous.
Well said.
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NC in the US of America
This is a nice thread, considering how much chiptune people like to sample stuff versus going super defense mode when somebody else samples chiptune people music.
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Memphis, TN
awesomeforce wrote:
i think you're fine no matter what you do. just don't get famous.
That's my constant fear, and why I always asks these kind of legal questions. I don't think I will get famous, cause I have next to zero chance, but in the back of my mind I'm always thinking, "But what if I do... It'll all be illegal, therefore the fame will only be momentary."
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Milwaukee, WI
You probably shouldn't be sampling if you couldn't be bothered to google sampling rights first.
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TX
All fame is only momentary. I don't see how your music being riddled with illegal samples will somehow make your hypothetical limelight even briefer, though.
@SketchMan3 - I agree with you that people can be pretty silly about artists sampling chiptune music (Crystal Castles is what comes to mind for me, I don't know if there are any other cases); however, there is a bit of a difference between an unknown artist failing to credit a well-known song and a well-known artist failing to credit an unknown song.
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Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Don't forget that a sound can't be copyrighted. So if you sample individual sounds rather than elements of a composition you'll be fine.
Ie, sampling a snare drum is safe, sampling a bar of drums may not be.
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good advices in this thread "don't get famous" (dont get caught!!) & "don't make money from it". given that plenty of people get away with uploading albums in full to youtube you will prbably be alright withsome sampling but if you try to sell it that's risky
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TSC wrote:
You probably shouldn't be sampling if you couldn't be bothered to google sampling rights first.
......huh?? : /
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ok first, very helpful replies!
second, now i know how to tell when i have gotten famous! i won't stop making music til i get my first letter from a copyright defense lawyer- then i'll know for sure that i've "made it"!
; )
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NC in the US of America
Brother Android wrote:
All fame is only momentary. I don't see how your music being riddled with illegal samples will somehow make your hypothetical limelight even briefer, though.
@SketchMan3 - I agree with you that people can be pretty silly about artists sampling chiptune music (Crystal Castles is what comes to mind for me, I don't know if there are any other cases); however, there is a bit of a difference between an unknown artist failing to credit a well-known song and a well-known artist failing to credit an unknown song.
The only difference is that the "well-known artist" is being held to a double-standard/should have known better/is being a big meanie/has more to gain. Not that much different. :7
defPREMIUM wrote:
TSC wrote:You probably shouldn't be sampling if you couldn't be bothered to google sampling rights first.
......huh?? : /
Makes sense. If you're going to put forth the effort to rip somebody's sounds/make a thread about it, the least you can do is put forth the effort do a bit of research first. I mean, it's nice that there are forums full of people who are willing to do it for you, but it's still nice to bring something to the table when bringing up a discussion. At least... I think that's what he's saying.
Last edited by SketchMan3 (Oct 17, 2013 8:36 am)